TABLE TENNIS STRONG TEAMS APPLY TO enter TOP GRADE

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28262, 27 April 1957, Page 4

TABLE TENNIS STRONG TEAMS APPLY TO enter TOP GRADE

The competitions committee oft the Canterbury Table Tennis Association will have a difficult task this year when it has to decide which are the strongest eight teams to admit to the first grade competition. Last year this grade consisted of 12 teams, but several of them were not up to first grade standard, with the result that many of the matches were onesided. The management committee of the Canterbury association decided ' at a recent meeting to confine the first and second grade competitions to not more than eight teams. Entries for this year’s inter-club competitions have been received from 13 teams for the first grade and 12 teams for the second grade. At least five of the first grade entries will, therefore, be relegated to second grade and nine teams dropped from second to third grade. Last Year’s Winner Last year’s competition winner, Selwyn I, has now headed the competition for three years in succession. The team includes V. N. Brightwell, the present South Island and Canterbury singles champion, and T. R. D. Flint, who shares with Brightwell the Canterbury men’s doubles title. Both of these players represented the South Island last year. P. S. Alexander, yvho completes the team, is this province’s top junior player. He is holder of the South t Island under 18 singles and doubles titles and has represented Canterbury in the senior men’s team. North Beach, which finished third last year, will have the same team again, made up of N. B. Rad- . ford, D. V. Fisher, and R. L. Hui- ' ston. This team is a well-balanced j one, and its members are likely to , cause some surprises. High School Old Boys entered senior ranks for the first time last ' year, and the team played well to ; finish fourth. The same team as last year is entered—R. Radford, who won the South Canterbury men’s championship singles and ' also represented the province in several matches; D. Hill, one of the top junior players last year, . and A. C. Ascott. Stronger Team Christchurch has entered a : stronger team this year, with G. ! Hart, a former Canterbury repre- 1

sentative player replacing O. Lindsay. The top player is R. W. : Mercer, who was runner-up in ■ the Canterbury and South Island ; men’s championship singles to Brightwell. Mercer also holds the Marlborough men’s singles title, i Mrs Purdon, formerly Patricia ( Quinn, is one of Canterbury’s ' best-known women players and is ] ranked number ten in New Zea- j land. Linwood has also entered a • stronger team this year. Both N. ( C. Orr and R. Orr have previ- ] ously represented Canterbury. P. ■ B. Spillane, a former Canterbury < men’s singles title holder and representative player is making a ; comeback to play for his old < club. ( Panthers are again fielding the ( same team, with Mrs Joan Prisk, ■ a former North Island women’s i singles titleholder as its number one player. R. Prisk and M. Cox ■ complete the team. Urfiversity has gained N. R. Woods, a former Otago and Victoria University College player. ; D. D. M. Stewart and J. Dowie are again playing in the team. ; Eagles will be considerably . weakened by the absence of Miss < J. M. Williamson, who has been ; playing in the world championships and will be away for two ; years. J. Armstrong, who has • represented Canterbury for sev- ; eral seasons, will be the number ■ one player. K. Duns, a former Canterbury representative player will be turning out for his old club after an absence of two years. < Mrs June Shadbolt, a women’s < representative player will com- 1 plete the team. The Selwyn H team is the same as last year. With A. B. McCallum, who has played in the senior •; competition since 1945, and J. Cornish and R. B. McCallum, a Canterbury junior representative i and finalist in the New Zealand junior singles, the side is a strong ; one. Cashmere, which won the senior reserve grade last year has also applied for first grade status. Its team is P. Steinmetz, E. Clark, and P. Johnson. Other teams which have applied for first grade ranking are: Papanui (C. Liddell, A. Black, A. Bond), Selwyn 111 (R. T. Oakey, , Mrs T. May, R. Harland), and South Brighton (R. Nesbitt, P. ’ Haughey. A. Hawes). _ < ] < 1 1 2 ( 1 1 i , 1 1 '